Turntable for railway-guns



F. FINCKH.

TURNTABLE FOR RAILWAY GUNS.

APPLICATION FILED SEPTA. 1920.

Patented Nov. 30, 1920.

2 SHEETSSHEET l- F. FINCKH. TURNTABLE FOR RAILWAY GUNS. APPLICATION FILED SEPTA. 1920.

1 360 5 13. Patented Nov. 30, 1920.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2- UNIT OFFIE.

FRITZ FINCKH, OF ESSEN, GERMANY, ASSIGNOR TO FRIED. KRUPP AKTIENGESELL S-CHAFT, OF ESSEN-ON-THE-RUHR, GERMANY.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, Fnrrz FINOKH, residing at Essen, Germany, a citizen of the German Republic, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Turntables for Railway-Guns, of which the following is a Specification.

The subject matter of the present inven tion is a turn-table for railway guns, which are to be fired at great elevations.

The invention will be described with ref erence to the accompanying drawings in which Figure 1 is a side elevation partially in section of one construction of the turntable together with the gun in the firing position and i Fig. 2 is the corresponding plan view of the turntable.

Figs. 3 and 4 are views corresponding to Figs. 1 and 2 of a second construction of the turntable.

The arrangement shown in Figs. 1 and 2 will be described first.

The bridge of the turntable consists 'of three parts A, B, C. The outer parts A, B are supported on a track D by means of rollers a 72 (see Fig. 1) and pivoted by their inner ends to the middle piece C which is without the otherwise usual king post and is mounted by means of balls 0 (see Fig. 1) on a track E.

The supporting ball bearings of the middle piece G are so constructed that they are adapted to absorb the horizontal forces which are exerted when running the gun on to the turntable and when firing it. In the middle piece C there is provided a rectangular opening 0 (see Fig. 2).

The turntable has rails F, which extend up to the opening 0 and rails F are also provided which extend over the opening 0 and are carried by a sliding platform G ar ranged inside the opening 0 which sliding platform with the rails thereon carried can be slid along on rails g? at right angles to the longitudinal direction of the rails F, F

The gun to be mounted on the turntable has a railway gun carriage, the frame H of which is supported on two bogies H H (see Fig. 1). The cradle J which carries the gun barrel J, is mounted on the frame H by means of horizontal trunnions i in such a way that its breech at reat elevations projects below the level of the rails F, F In the case of heavy guns the breech end of the Specification of Letters Patent. Patgnted N 30, 1920,

Application filed September 4, 1920. Serial No. 408,378.

gun barrel is widerthan the free space between the rails.

l/V hen running the gun on to the turn table, the gun barrel is in the horizontal position and the sliding platform G in such a end of the gun barrel can swing downward unimpeded by the rails F in the opening 0 when the gun barrel is elevated. The opening 0 then also affords room for the gun barrel when it recoils on the firing of the gun, the breech end of the barrel at the end of the recoil and after the gun has run back, assuming the position shown by dot and dash lines in Fig. 1.

The above described arrangement is distinguished firstly by the fact that the diameter of the turntable can be kept comparatively small, because the space in the middle of the turntable otherwise occupied by the king post is utilized for the opening 0 An important advantage of this arrangement also consists in the fact that the necessary free space for the breech end of the gun barrel is provided in the opening 0 in the simplest way by the shifting of the rails F Any removing of the rails and of the corresponding supports which takes up time is therefore avoided and the advantage gained that the gun is ready for firing very quickly.

The construction shown in Figs. 3 and 4L differs generally from the one described merely in that in place of the sliding platform a small turntable K is mounted inside the middle piece C. The turntable K is supported by means of balls 70 (see Fig. 3) on a track M and is provided with an opening 70 (see Fig. 4) for the breech end of the gun barrel. Upon the turntable K are placed rails F at right angles to the longitudinal direction of the opening k Over the opening 70 are passed pieces of rail which are either loosely inserted between the rails F or are pivotally attached to one end thereof.

After the gun has been run on to the turntable, the rails F? lying in line with and in in three parts, the intermediate portion' thereof being supported on ball-bearings and being hingedly connected to the two remaining portions of the turntable, said intermediate portion being provided with an opening and movable means for bridging 'saidopening, substantially as described.

2. A turntable for railway guns comprising three sections, the intermediate section thereof being rotatably supported and forming a center for the two remaining portions of the turntable which are hingedly connected thereto, said intermediate portion being provided with an opening, and a slidable platform positioned in said opening, substantially as described. 7

3. A turntable for railway guns formed in sections, the intermediate section thereof being provided with an opening, rails carried by the sections of the turntable, a sliding platform positioned in said opening, said platform carrying rails adapted to be brought into alinement with the rails carried by the turntable, as and for the purpose set forth.

4. A' turntable for railway guns formed in sections, one of said sections bei-n provided with an opening, rails carried y the sections of the turntable, and means for bridging the opening and bringing a set of rails into line with the rails of the turntable, as and for the purpose set forth.

5. A turntable for railway guns, said turntable being formed in sections, a second turntable carried by the intermediate section,

said second turntable being provided with an opening, rails carried by the sectionsof the main turntable, rails carried by the second turntable and adapted to be brought into alinement With t'he rails of the main turntable, substantially as'described.

The foregoing specification signed at Essen, Germany, this 18th day of May, 1920. FRITZ FINGKH In presence of HANS Go'rrsMANN, J OSEF OLBERTZ. 

